A process automation system refers to a monitoring and control system, usually of an industrial system or a set of industrial processes, in which a distributed control system (DCS) may utilize controller elements to monitor and control the industrial processes. Each DCS is operated by a DCS server that sends information to human operators who monitor and control the industrial processes via an operator console. A single DCS may contain multiple operator consoles and each console may contain multiple stations. Each station is used to notify human operators of industrial process conditions via alarms and viewable data. The multiple distributed control systems may be connected by a process control communications network.
FIG. 1, for example, shows a conventional process automation system 100 including multiple DCS's 102, 112 and 122 connected via a process control network 150. Each DCS includes one or more servers and one or more controllers for controlling one or more industrial processes. DCS 102 includes server 104 and controller 105 for controlling industrial process 109. Likewise, DCS 112 includes server 114 and controller 115 for controlling industrial process 119 and DCS 122 includes server 124 and controller 125 for controlling industrial process 129. Furthermore, each DCS is associated with one or more consoles, to which the DCS sends data (i.e., process event data) about the industrial processes it monitors and controls. DCS 102 is connected to console 106, which displays information in station 107 for viewing by a human operator 108. Likewise, DCS 112 is connected to console 116, which displays information in station 117 for viewing by a human operator 118 and DCS 122 is connected to console 126, which displays information in station 127 for viewing by a human operator 128.
In the system 100 shown in FIG. 1, human operators may view process event data on a console or station that is connected to a DCS that receives the process event data from only the particular industrial process that is controlled by that DCS. Human operator 108, for example, may view process event data about industrial process 109, which is reported to the DCS 102 and relayed to console 106. Human operator 108 may also view event data on console 106, where the system events include data about the DCS 102 itself (e.g. a hardware failure, failed login). But such conventional systems do not allow human operators to view process event data that originates from an industrial process that is not monitored or controlled by the DCS that corresponds to the human operator's console. Human operator 108, for example, may not view real time process event data about industrial process 119, which is reported to the DCS 112, since the console of operator 108 is not communicably connected to the DCS 112. As known in the art of control systems and used herein, “real time” refers to the response time for any event not being more than the scan time. In real systems, most control loops in a DCS-based system have a scan time of about 0.5 to 2 s.
This aspect of conventional process automation system limits the effectiveness and the abilities of human operators monitoring a process automation system including a plurality of DCS, since these individuals are limited to monitoring a subset of the process event data of the entire system. The aforementioned shortcoming also does not sufficiently avail itself of the networking capabilities of the process control network 150. Therefore, there is a need for a system for facilitating the viewing of process event data by human operators monitoring process automation systems having a plurality of DCS across multiple DCS's.